1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air bag apparatus which protects a seat occupant by inflating a bag when the speed of a vehicle is reduced rapidly.
2. Description of the Related Art
An air apparatus which protects a seat occupant by inflating a bag when the speed of a vehicle is reduced rapidly has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 248455/1985). This type of air bag apparatus is equipped with a lock bar for preventing the movement of a ball, which constitutes an acceleration sensor, so that the bag will not inflate even if an impact is applied to the air bag body before it is mounted on a steering wheel. However, if an attempt is made to mount the air bag body on a steering wheel, a release pin projecting from the steering wheel moves into the air bag body, which in turn causes the lock bar to move, thereby making the ball movable.
Consequently, a conventional air bag apparatus has a drawback in that as the air bag body is mounted on the steering wheel, the acceleration sensor simultaneously becomes operable, so that the acceleration sensor may be actuated by an impact occurring at the time of mounting.